Go Fly a Kite

Today was a gorgeous day! It was 70 and sunny with a fairly gusty wind (at least by Visalia standards). So, after naps, or the attempt to have everyone nap... I think with the disposal of Calvin's nippies, we've also disposed of his nap... anyway, after naps, we all headed to the park. Daniel LOVES to ride his bike, so riding to the park was a treat in itself for him. Part of the Hiemstra and Rip families joined us, and Mark brought a kite, so the kids had a lot of fun flying the kite (actually they had more fun rescuing the kite every time it made a dive bomb to the ground). Fun times!

Save Some Frosting for the Brownies!

Today we made Scott's new favorite treat -- chocolate brownies WITH frosting (having frosting is key to making it his favorite!). As you can see the boys had a lot of fun "helping"; I have to say, their "help" actually makes a fair amount of extra work, but seeing their sweet little faces covered in chocolate makes it worth it:)

These brownies are sinfully good -- thanks to my dear sister-in-law, Lori, for the recipe! As opposed to some things that I've attempted to make from scratch that HAVEN'T been worth the effort (cake -- buy the box of Betty Crocker cake mix; corn muffins -- Scott prefers the Jiffy box; mac n' cheese -- I love a good homemade version, but again, my hubby prefers a box of Kraft), these brownies are definately worth the extra effort. Hope you enjoy (recipe will be in the side margin).

Beef Roasts and Being Late for Dinner -- Figuring Things Out

I am 34 years old, have been married for almost 11 years, and am finally figuring some things out. For example, I am figuring out, (finally!) how to make a good beef roast. I have tried many recipes, and they just weren't quite right. They were either too dry, not tender enough, not tasty enough, or too complicated. But now I've found THE ONE! Many thanks to my dear Aunt Jesse for this accomplishment, as she so thoughtfully included the recipe in the collection I put together for my wonderful, new sister-in-law, Ashley.


I've also figured out that I don't need get frustrated with my husband when he is late for dinner. Even when dinner consists of the wonderfully tasty roast from Aunt Jesse, potatoes, and green beans, and I kindly told my husband that dinner was ready 45 minutes before he decided to ramble on in to the house after chatting with every neighbor we have. And I really wasn't upset -- really! Granted, it's taken me a long time to learn this lesson (almost 11 years!), but I'm getting there.


Anyway, enough of my own ramblings... I've been thinking for awhile about adding a feature to my blog where I include my current favorite recipe. So to kick it off, I'm including my dear Aunt Jesse's recipe--what a better way to start than with a homey roast beef, right?! Hope you all enjoy the new feature and get to try some of our family's favorite foods!!! (Check out the recipe in the side bar under the pics of the kids... and below!)


All Day Roast
Season 3-4 pound beef roast with salt and pepper and place in crock pot. Mix one envelope dry onion soup mix, one envelope brown gravy mix, and 2 cups apple juice and pour over roast. Cook on high for 1 hour and then turn crock pot to low and cook an additional 8-10 hours. You can also cook this in a Dutch oven -- cover and cook at 250 degrees for about 8 hours.